Will someone please ID the pic below and tell me which species of Crossochelius species it it?
I've seen it labeled as C. langei, oblongus, siamensis, atrilimes, and also as a Garra cambodgiensis.
I want to know exactly which species this is because I have one and don't know. It was sold to me as a "True" SAE but I'm sure that it's not.
I know some species of Crossochelius have a dark blotch near the ventral area. In this pic we can't see that area for comparison. Does that mean a 100% positive ID is not possible on this fish in the picture??
I would suggest this fish pictured is actually the False SAE, Garra cambodgiensis. According to the info in our profile of the true Siamese Algae Eater, Crossocheilus langei, the dark band extends onto the caudal fin in the latter but not in the former; on the fish pictured, Kym, it stops at the caudal peduncle and does not extend onto the caudal fin. The photo in our profile clearly shows the dark band into the fin, and I assume that is the "true" SAE.
Thbis is a far as I can venture with this group; I do not have knowledge of the several species in the genus beyond what is inthe profile.
Thanks for weighing in, Byron.
That picture was pulled from the internet and is not a picture of my actual fish. My fish never sits still long enough for me to get a picture.
If I would have paid more attention to the internet picture I would have noticed the dark band and where it ended. My fish has the band extending all the way through to the end of the tail. Everything else about this internet picture looks like my fish, especially the lemon tinted fins. My fish has these exact same lemon tinted fins. I don't think a true SAE has lemon tinted fins.
My fish doesn't have a dark blotch near the ventral area (was finally able to determine that fact this am). The langei has the blotch at the ventral area, correct?
Given that info can you give it another go at identifying this fish species?? Sorry to put you on the spot but I'm lousy when it comes to this fish species. It doesn't help that you often find juvie Crossocheilus species all together in the same tank at the LFS. I know this is the way they come in from the importer. It's easy enough to look for the extended band through the tail but at that young age and size the fin tint color, barbels and blotches aren't yet fully developed.
Well really, Auntie, if you will post the wrong picture...:tease:
To the issue. I must rely on those wih much more knowledge of these fish than I have. Below is a photo of the so-called Siamese Algae Eater showing lemon-yellow colouration; this comes from Robert Paul Hudson, a planted tank authority, whom I would expect to know. Next photo comes from George Booth who has a site on algae. All of these photos are the so-called Siamese Algae Eater and not the so-called Flying Fox. These two fish are the ones most often seen and that get mixed up; the "False" SAE we can discount since the stripe does not go onto the caudal fin and you said your fish has the stripe into the fin, so it would likely be one of these two. I am also including Mr. Booth's comments verbatim. [His comment on the silly confusion that common names cause is one I frequently write myself, as everyone knows.]
Siamese Algae Eater Do not confuse this fish with the Chinese Algae Eater, which is very aggressive and does not eat algae. The siamese algae eater, Crossocheilus siamensis, is a very good algae consumer and is known to eat black brush (red) algae. The only problem is that these fish are hard to find in the United States. There are several fish in this family. The most commonly seen is Epalzeorhynchos kallopterus, commonly known as the Flying Fox. The Flying Fox is the more attractive of the two. It tends to have a brownish body with a very distinct, sharp-edged black stripe with a distinct, thin gold or bronze stripe above it. These tend to be very aggressive when they are full grown and don't eat red algae (as far as one aquarium reference is concerned). The other member is the Siamese Algae Eater. It is the same shape as the Flying Fox but tends toward a silverish body with a somewhat ragged black stripe.There may be an indistinct gold or bronze stripe above the black. These are definitely not aggressive; they are good companions for discus and small tetras. When they are young, the differences between E. kallopterus and C. siamensis may not be very apparent, especially if you haven't seen both types together. Unfortunately, most wholesalers don't sell fish to stores by their scientific name and the common names that are used sometimes get pretty silly (like "siamese flying fox"). If you really can't tell which one the store has, buy it anyway, but be prepared to sacrifice it if it turns out to be the wrong kind (unless your fish aren't bothered by it, of course).
First photo below is the Flying Fox, according to Lupin [this photo is in a sticky on TFK]. Second photo is the Siamese Algae Eater. My friend Matt Ford, a biologist from the UK, says the fin colouration of the Flying Fox is distinctive, and I would not question his judgement; third photo is of the Flying Fox from Matt, and to me this appears the same fish as the first photo.
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